Conventionally, electrical connectors attached to electronic devices have been required to have a watertight function of making the interior of the electronic devices watertight from outside. To fit to a mating connector, such an electrical connector includes a fitting portion exposed to outside the casing of the electronic device. Gaps between conductive contacts arranged on the fitting portion and an insulating housing holding the contacts need to be made watertight.
If an electrical connector is formed by integrally molding a housing and contacts, the housing and the contacts are not in close contact with each other. There are gaps between the housing and the contacts, and a desired watertight effect is not available. If contacts having fine grooves in the surface and a housing are integrally molded to form an electrical connector, a desired watertight effect can be obtained. However, the need to machine the contacts increases product and manufacturing costs.
Under the circumstances, Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration of an electrical connector having a watertight function, in which a rear end portion of a housing is provided with a sealing material formed by filling and curing a resin material such as a potting material. The electrical connector according to Patent Literature 1 can be made watertight by sealing gaps between the housing and terminals arranged on the housing with the sealing material provided in the rear end portion of the housing.